Dunstan Newsletter

August 14, 2026

Welcome parents and guardians! We are thrilled to welcome you to this school year! Please read the information in this newsletter carefully. We have a lot of events coming and want to make sure you are in the loop.

Wednesday Aug. 19th is our Open House for all grade levels from 12:00 noon - 6:00 PM. Please come to school with your student and their schedule. As you walk through our main doors please listen to the greeters who will have maps and be able to direct you to the appropriate location to help your child open their locker. Then use their schedule and the school map (which will be provided near the front entrance) to help them practice walking from one class to the next. Note: each student should have 1 Language Arts, 1 Social Studies, 1 Science, and 1 Math plus 1 Advise class). Our entire staff will be here this day to meet and greet you and your child. To make the most of this time, please have your child practice their locker multiple times and practice walking to their classes (in order) multiple times - and, eventually, have them do this independently.

Thursday, Aug. 20th is the first full day for 6th Graders only. This is our 6th Grade Orientation Day from 8:40-8:55 6th graders and their families are welcome to wait on the front lawn for the gym doors to open. Our staff will applaud and cheer as our 6th graders walk into the gym at 8:55. While your 6th graders are here, they will work with their 8th grade WEB Leaders to do team-building activities. We are serving lunch in the cafeteria. Then 6th graders practice their schedules and lockers in the afternoon. The dismissal bell rings at 3:55 PM. This is a day devoted to creating a smooth transition for our 6th grade students.

Note: if you pick-up your child (this is a large campus), please identify and communicate a specific location where you will pick up your student. For example, the trees located between Devinny Elementary School’s parking lot and Dunstan’s north side of the school.

Friday, Aug. 21st is the 1st Day of School for All Students (6th-8th Grades). Our doors open at 8:45. Students are allowed in the building at 8:45. The first bell to start Advise class rings at 8:55. All staff will be available to help your teen throughout the day - with lockers, navigating the school, etc. We are all here to get to know each student, help them have a smooth start, and begin a great year together. The school day ends at 3:55.

We are looking forward to greeting you and welcoming you to the 2026-27 school year!

Please call if you have questions and/or concerns.

Respectfully and in Partnership,

Jen Pennell

• Wednesday, August 19th: Dunstan Open House from 12:00-6:00 PM (see flyer below for more information), Kate Mulcahy, our CLDE teacher, will be available from 4:00-6:00 PM for families wanting to meet and/or in need of Spanish interpretation.
• Thursday, August 20th: 6th Grade Orientation (only 6th grade students) from 8:55 AM-3:55 PM and new 7th and 8th Grade student orientation 2:30-4:00 PM.
• Friday, August 21st: First day of school for all students, PICTURE DAY
• Wednesday, August 26th: Virtual Back to School night (more information coming soon)
• Wednesday, August 26th and Thursday, August 27th: Math MAP testing
• Tuesday, September 1st and Wednesday, September 2nd: ELA MAP testing
• Thursday, September 3rd: 6th Grade Parent night 5:30-6:30 PM at Dunstan (library)

Please click HERE to sign up to support Dunstan's PTA through King Soopers Community Rewards. This is a quick and easy way to support our school!

August 2026

Dear Green Mountain Articulation Area Families,

As you prepare to send your student back to school next week, we want to share some important safety reminders about arriving and leaving campus. Our top priority is—as always—ensuring a safe, supportive, and engaging environment for everyone from day one. In that spirit, and with electric bikes, scooters, and other rideable devices becoming an increasingly popular way for students to commute, we would like to highlight a few key rules and guidelines.

We strongly support the use of standard bicycles and legal e-bikes; however, we need your partnership to ensure all students are following state laws and local rules. It is essential to understand what type of vehicle your child is operating:

• E-Bikes: Feature functional pedals assisted by a low-speed electric motor (under 750W as anything 750W or higher is not considered a legal e-bike in Colorado). These are legal for students to ride on streets and public property under specific conditions.

• E-Dirt Bikes & Moped-Style Vehicles: Propelled solely by a higher-powered motor without standard pedals, reaching higher speeds. These are illegal for anyone under 16 to ride on public streets/property, as state law requires a driver's license, DMV registration, and proper road equipment.

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Important: Because elementary and middle school students are under 16, no students should be riding e-dirt bikes, mopeds, or high-powered non-compliant vehicles to school.

Please talk with your child about these rules and make sure any vehicle they ride to school fully complies with the law. Learn more about the difference between e-bikes and e-motos on the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office website.

Our School Resource Officer, John Goodrich, will follow up with families of students who continue to ride illegal or non-compliant vehicles to campus:

1. First Violation: A formal warning will be issued to the family.

2. Subsequent Violations: May result in traffic citations/tickets and potential seizure of the vehicle by law enforcement.

Thank you for your cooperation in keeping our students and neighborhood safe! Please feel free to reach out to the school office if you have any questions.

In partnership,

Megan Madsen, Jennifer Pennell, DeAnn Hoffman, Thomas Gardner, Brad Mallers, Shannon Schneider

Green Mountain Articulation Area Principals

Hello 6th Grade Parents!

Can you believe your awesome kiddo is almost a middle schooler? We are so excited to meet them! We have a very special day planned to welcome your student to middle school! With the help of 80, 8th grade WEB leaders, they will be engaging in a variety of fun activities that will help them connect with other students, and navigate middle school more successfully. WEB stands for Where Everybody Belongs, and is a middle school leadership and transition program that welcomes 6th graders and makes them feel comfortable throughout their first year of middle school! This is important because we really want Dunstan to be a place where everyone feels accepted for who they are! Please see the below information regarding your student’s first day of school on Thursday, August 20th. Thank you!

• August 12th - August 19th:

• You will receive a phone call from an 8th grade WEB leader to introduce themselves to your 6th grade student. This call will likely come from a phone number you don’t recognize, and will go to the phone number in Infinite Campus listed as your #1 contact. Please make sure your contact information is up-to-date. Thank you, in advance, for being patient and kind to the WEB leaders. This is a great opportunity for them to practice communication skills, but they are still learning.

• Thursday, August 20th:

• Please have your student to school by 8:55am. The parking lot can be very busy, so coming earlier is a good idea.

• Students will enter the building through the gym doors. WEB Leaders and staff will be outside to guide and welcome them.

• Please make sure your student eats a healthy breakfast before school starts, as they will be sooo hungry by lunch if they don’t.

• Please have your student dress comfortably. The kids will be active and having fun!

• Please only have your student bring their schedule and a lunch (if they pack a cold lunch). They will not need any other supplies for the day.

• Schedules will be released by Thursday, August 13th by 4pm. You will receive an email with directions on how to access your student’s schedule on Infinite Campus.

On Wednesday, August 19th, the school will be open from 12 - 6pm so that all students can bring their school supplies, organize their lockers and meet their teachers. This event is open to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. Parents/guardians are encouraged to come with 6th grade students to help them learn how to open the lockers; we will also have staff on hand to help. We will also have a Kona Ice Truck here from 1pm to 3pm!! If you are unable to come at this time, it’s ok! Students will have time on Friday the 21st at the start of the day to get settled in and should bring their supplies then. We thank you for helping us get your 6th grader off to a successful start!

Warm Regards,

Jennifer Baker - 8th Grade Counselor and WEB Coordinator

Jeffco has officially launched ParentSquare as our primary platform for school communication. Families will now receive messages through email, app, voice or text, helping everyone stay informed and involved.

An account is automatically created for each parent or guardian using the contact information in Infinite Campus, our student information system. We encourage you to activate your account to download the free mobile app, set your language preferences, and choose how and when you’d like to receive messages.

What you can do with ParentSquare:

• Receive updates from your school via email, app, or text notification

• View posts, photos, calendars, and important announcements

• Communicate in your preferred language with automatic translation

• Comment on school posts and stay engaged with your school community

• Send direct messages to teachers and staff

• Participate in group conversations

Click the link HERE to learn more about blocking YouTube using the Securely feature.

Thanks to Healthy School Meals for All (HSMA), Jeffco Public Schools will continue to provide all students with one breakfast and one lunch at no cost through the 2026-27 school year, regardless of income eligibility. Research shows that students who are not hungry perform better in school. Even though meals are free for all students, families are strongly encouraged to complete a Student Benefits Application.

We use SchoolCafé to:

Families Who Need Meal Modifications - You need to communicate your needs with our new Kitchen Manager, Sandra Bartle at Sandra.Bartle@jeffco.k12.co.us. Also click for the district special diets link with info.